5 Classic Videogames that Deserve a Movie Franchise

Some movie critics have declared that movies based on video games might just be the thing that could defeat the box office success of the superhero genre. While that idea does seem far from realization with box office bombs like Prince of Persia and Silent Hill, and the lack-luster showing of Tomb Raider and the Resident Evil franchise, movie producers are continuing to venture into adapting videogames to movies, case in point the Assassin’s Creed movie starring Michael Fassbender, and the yet to get-going Metal Gear Solid movie (check our fan-casting here). Arguably these games are ripe for a movie-adaptation, but here are our recommendations for an interesting movie franchise.

Seems unconventional right? But hear this out first. Bomberman is a strategy game that debuted in 1983 where the player is tasked to plant bombs to kill enemies and destroy obstacles. While the game play might be argued as too arcade-y, the whole backstory of our main protagonist “White Bomberman” is deserving of a movie.

Based on the game, the White Bomberman is an underground robot bomb-maker that lives in Planet Bomber in the Bomber Nebula, and grows board of his menial job and wants out. After word goes out that the robots becomes humans when exposed to the outside surface, White Bomberman embarks on a journey to reach the surface and upon reaching it becomes an organic human.

White Bomberman also has a rogue gallery consisting of Black Bomberman (who later becomes his ally), Professor Bagura and his 5 Dastardly Bombers.

Professor Bagura and the 5 Dastardly Bombers

So how would it work? Well the franchise could go for a trilogy or take the Harry Potter route and spread out the story for numerous movies delving on the journey of White Bomberman in defeating his foe Professor Bagura.

The movie could give off that vibe of being a young-adult movie, having White Bomberman discover his purpose in life. Once he realizes his potential he must face Professor Bagura and his Dastardly Bombers in order to save Planet Bomber from his tyranny. By setting-up the franchise as a journey to defeating Bagura, we would get a complex movie that mixes the young-adult, adventure, sci-fi, action, drama genre in one package.

If the producers do opt to take it to a grittier/adult direction, than the best way to market this franchise is by setting-up the movie as a post-apocalyptic/steam-punk/war-flick. Just imagine it this way, its Terminator (the original movies) meets Ex-Machina meets the Matrix or any other uprising against the machines movie. Just don’t get Michael Bay near the movie, and you’d get a decent franchise going.

Having Bomberman use different types of bombs would also give a big plus for the movie. And these bombs have to have their different abilities, just think of it as a spy weapon used by James Bond.

Now this is fairly straight-forward, Earth is being attacked by aliens and a fleet of fighters stave-off the offensive until the only hope of Earth is one ship going against the odds.

That itself is an awesome plot for a sci-fi movie, but how do we turn it to a block-buster worthy franchise? Well, the movie could take cue from the recent movie Pacific Rim. Just like in the game, the alien invaders come at the players by waves. The movie could then focus on a special squadron of sorts and follow their training and battle, with the squad winning battles but losing more and more members, until finally the entire squad gets wiped out. Enter our hero, who may or may not be a reluctant war veteran who is now tasked to commandeer the remaining fighter jet/ship since he is the only person with the proper training, then have him take on the aliens by himself until he finally boards the mother ship. Now to up the ante in terms of action and suspense, the movie could go the Die Hard/Olympus Has Fallen route by having our hero go against all odds.

Basically just like the Nova Corps in Guardians of the Galaxy

And how cool would it be when the movie references the Avengers or even have one of the members of the squadron watching the movie and one of the main character points that out.

Contra really shouldn’t be left off this list. Who doesn’t recognize this “Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start” cheat code? Contra is just ripe for a movie adaptation, especially with the recent success of the Expendables and the G.I. Joe franchise and numerous war based movies coming-out in recent memory.

Contra should take a page out of the Expendables’ book

To make this a Hollywood worthy movie, the trick is having it set in current time and making it based on an elite group of soldiers and military personnel who are called the “Contra” Command or Group, and sent to an active war zone somewhere in Africa or the Middle East/West Asia to rescue a group of P.O.W.s and assassinate or take out the terrorists. The whole alien plot of the game could easily be replaced with advanced weaponry of the Cobra Group akin to that of G.I. Joe.

Guns, lots of guns

And as a wink to the fans of the game, we could have our heroes’ guns depleted and in bad need of restocking ammo, and what do you know there’s an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the field that needs pass codes, and by having the team input the most famous cheat code ever the warehouse opens to an unlimited stock of guns and ammos. Cheat code in real life! Awesome!

While Twisted Metal may not come to mind as a classic video game to many, it still counts as one since this game was among those released on the Playstation 1, which was released 20 years ago.

Based on the backstory of the game, Twisted Metal is an annual demolition derby where contestants drive souped-up, weaponized cars, and the winner gets a single wish granted, but the wish comes with a catch as it usually twists the wishes in the most horrible fashion.

Just imagine Sweet Tooth in Fury Road

Now the adaptation of this movie may go different routes. It may be a pure demolition derby sort of thing and could take its cue from Mad Max: Fury Road, or it could go the Hunger Games route by having different districts send in their contestants and battle it out in the arena, or a completely different take altogether.

But what should be the focus here is the carnage and explosions. Heck, the story doesn’t even need to be that complex, just have a demolition derby with tons of action and destruction, cause who doesn’t want that in a Summer flick, right?

Remember those beat-em-up side scrolling 2-4 player games on the PS1? Well Fighting Force is one of those games that belonged to that genre. The genre speaks for itself, the players control a character and have one goal, to go through any and every person getting in their way by whatever means necessary. It is a fighting co-op game in its purest form.

So why make it a movie? Well, it would work well as a survival movie, where the protagonist and his team are sent to a slum area to capture and bring to justice a crime kingpin but things go awry and now they have to fight their way out of the area. The best example for this game is the movie Raid Redemption, but without guns but tons of weapons and hand-to-hand combat, and instead of one super-cop, have a team of super-cops fighting their way out.

One of the many awesome fight scenes on Raid Redemption

So there you have it, our suggestions for the next videogame based movie franchise. We’d like to hear your list of video games that you think deserve their own movie franchise, just comment here or hit us up on our Facebook page or group, or on Twitter, or even on Instagram.

Gino is the Gladiators’ resident TV and Comic book reviewer. He is a lawyer in the making by day and full-on geek by night. He believes that the lightsaber is the best weapon during a zombie apocalypse. #AgeOfTheGeek